Brewers: Luis Urias Reaches Super Two Player Status

When MLB Trade Rumors first came out with their arbitration projections for the 2022 season, the cutoff for service time to qualify as a super two player was not yet set. We now know that the cutoff has been set at 2.116 years of service, which means that by four days, Brewers infielder Luis Urias qualifies as a super two player.

As super two eligible, Urias will now get four years of arbitration, with this winter being his first big pay raise. MLB trade rumors has his projected his 2022 salary at $2.4MM. While this is not a substantially large increase, it is more money on the payroll that the Brewers now have to take into consideration.

After a successful 2021 season for the Brewers, super two-eligible Luis Urias is currently in line to be the starting third baseman in 2022.

2021 trade deadline pickup Eduardo Escobar has elected to sign with the New York Mets, which in theory leaves the primary third base job to Urias. However, some may not feel confident in this move as there are two perceptions regarding his ability to be the everyday third baseman: that he is not capable of providing enough offense and that he cannot make the throws defensively.

When you take a look at Urias’ offensive season, he finished with 23 home runs, 75 RBIs, and had a 111 wRC+. This type of production is more than serviceable from an offensive standpoint and is also comparable to Escobar and many other established hitters across the league.

Defensively, he had 24 errors on the season. However, 14 errors came as a shortstop and just nine as a third basemen. With six defensive runs saved at third base and him having a knack for making flashy plays, there should not be much concern over his defensive ability either.

The Brewers have not formally commented on committing to Urias being the everyday third basemen next season, but giving him a chance seems like a reasonable idea. It is also possible that they  elect to sign a power bat such as Kris Bryant or make a change via trade, but odds are this will not happen.

Regardless, Urias figures to be tendered a contract next season which will leave the Brewers will another 13 players eligible for arbitration this off-season. A vast majority of these are core players on the roster and are likely to return.

While it is great to keep these players intact and have them under club control, it also means the Brewers will be dedicating a lot more of the payroll to these players. Luis Urias has now entered this mix.